/*
 *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 *  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 *  You may obtain a copy of the License at 
 * 
 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 *  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 *  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 *  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 *  limitations under the License.
 *  
 */

using System;

namespace org.apache.commons.collections
{

    /**
     * Defines a functor interface implemented by classes that create objects.
     * <p>
     * A <code>Factory</code> creates an object without using an input parameter.
     * If an input parameter is required, then {@link Transformer} is more appropriate.
     * <p>
     * Standard implementations of common factories are provided by
     * {@link FactoryUtils}. These include factories that return a constant,
     * a copy of a prototype or a new instance.
     * 
     * @since Commons Collections 2.1
     * @version $Revision$ $Date$
     *
     * @author Arron Bates
     * @author Stephen Colebourne
     */
    public interface Factory
    {

        /**
         * Create a new object.
         *
         * @return a new object
         * @throws FunctorException (runtime) if the factory cannot create an object
         */
        Object create();

    }
}